Smart Sighting

[zpiloto]

We don't know how well the Smart will do until you can walk on a lot anywhere in the US and buy one. In reality the only way to reduce our dependence on oil is when all the disposible income goes to pay for it. Then you see consumers demanding cars that get good mileage. Until then it will be the status quo.

[2TonJellyBean]

Well the US is the last hope for the Smart as a business venture. I do wish it well and talk about a great car for the Bay area. Maybe a clean diesel will be quickly into the mix.

If the U.S. can get the plant up close to or at full capacity (it's always been under 50% of capacity - $5billion sunk - add that AND the Chrysler fiasco) and this wonderful vehicle could finally become the urban success story it should've been. It's a bit too advanced for traditional people, but anyone in an urban environment can truly see its beauty.

Cars are just drivable fashion.

[StorminMatt]

Well, so far I have not heard ANYONE outside of this forum say that they like the styling of the Smart. Most people I have talked to think it looks like some kind of stupid giant roller skate, and would never be caught dead driving the thing. Yes, maybe this is just concern over image. But let's face it: image sells cars. Is it too much to ask to make the thing lower, sleeker, and sportier looking? Why does it have to be so damn tall? If shorter, it would not ony look better. It would also handle better AND get better gas mileage (better Cd and lower frontal area). And maybe more people would actually buy one over a larger, less economical car. But I would rather be seen driving my beat-up 1988 CRX than THAT thing.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Originally Posted by theclencher

highway cars not so much.

My knees resent that comment.

[GasSavers_HAHA]

Smart was actually built as a little Sports car until recently.
Se: http://www.autointell.com/nao_compan...oadster-99.htm


It was dropped due to poor profitability but has now been bought out by some well known actors in the car industry. It will be resurrected under the classic AC brand. The Mitsubishi 1-litre engine from Smart will be re-used and delivers 100hp in the turbo charged version. The car has rear wheel drive and is optimized for "inspired driving". Production was said to start in late 2007.

[MetroMPG]

It's pointless to argue over subjective issues like a car's styling affecting potential sales.

Pontiac sold over 110,000 Azteks.

QED.

[skewbe]

Originally Posted by StorminMatt

...Is it too much to ask to make the thing lower, sleeker, and sportier looking?...

Intelligent people are capable of seeing the beauty inherent in the form resulting from function. Art is more than just swooshy short attention span visuals, it can be found in everything from a computer algorithm to an entire organization. There is meaning in the function, even more so that in the form.

[rh77]

First welcome to HAHA from Sweden

Z - I've been looking around for them as well. But yup, it'll probably be speeding down the highway at 80 behind that same Prius

I can see StorminMatt's point-of-view, however. They took the vehicle, changed it little for the American market, and plopped it here. It's designed for the narrow-streets of Europe -- and maybe that's that's the market in which it will flourish: in our busy downtowns or city neighborhoods. My concern is highway operation. It seems like it would be tough to get that kind of efficiency (from the average user) at a higher-speed cruise. I like the SMART roadster as posted by HAHA below. Since 95%+ of my driving is on the highway, it seems like a better fit, for me. If I lived in downtown Chicago, or if I had a city-only commute, my story might change.

But the rebuttals are legitimate. This car gets superior FE compared to what we have available, so the Function is the Form. We need to cultivate a notion of small cars being "cool" again, not cold. Folks are still entitled to their opinion -- and if someone doesn't like the looks of the car, I fine with it.

The fact is that the company is losing big money, and they're breaking into a new (tough) market during a time when folks are looking to save fuel.

One last concern. Being from Mercedes, I expect the SMART to be quite unreliable. From experience with working on my neighbor's Mini Cooper, German "budget" engineering (vs. other higher-end Mercs and BMWs) tends to be shoddy lately. No joke, after many electric Gremlins and trips to the dealer, the passenger window quit working one day. A fan website recommended a "Power Window Reset Procedure". After searching this site for the "method", we finally found it: thwack it with a rubber mallet. After having the door panels off and fiddling with it, the darn hammer worked.

RH77

[2TonJellyBean]

To be clear, I really like the looks of the first generation Smart car... the newer one doesn't look nearly as nice to me.

[StorminMatt]

Originally Posted by skewbe

Intelligent people are capable of seeing the beauty inherent in the form resulting from function.

Then again, you are implying here that the Smart's dumpy looks are a REQUIREMENT for good fuel economy. They're NOT!

Originally Posted by HAHA

Smart was actually built as a little Sports car until recently.
Se: http://www.autointell.com/nao_compan...oadster-99.htm


It was dropped due to poor profitability but has now been bought out by some well known actors in the car industry. It will be resurrected under the classic AC brand. The Mitsubishi 1-litre engine from Smart will be re-used and delivers 100hp in the turbo charged version. The car has rear wheel drive and is optimized for "inspired driving". Production was said to start in late 2007.

Now THAT actually looks decent. As for it not selling well, maybe this was the case in Europe. But I can see the styling of this particular car catcing on ALOT better among the American people than that of the Smart. I myself would drive that car.